The Gift
by MsBarrows
Summary: An interlude with Sebastian and Fenris, written as 3rd Prize for a writing giveaway I recently did on Tumblr. Rated M for m/m interaction.


It had been a long, hard day of travel, following along after Hawke on one of her lengthy expeditions up into the mountains behind Kirkwall. One for nothing more exciting than additional supplies of herbs for Anders to use in making potions for use in his Darktown clinic; a worthy cause, at least, and arguably a better one than Hawke's usual mercenary pursuits. Sebastian had wondered, more than once, why he let her drag him along on her expeditions; there had been a time when he'd not wanted to admit what the answer was, even to himself. In time he'd come to terms with it; his attraction. Not to Hawke; an admirable woman in many ways, and very pretty, yes – but it was not to her that he had become attracted. Not to her that he had developed an attachment.

No. It was the elf; Fenris. The pair of them had quickly become friends, soon after he'd become one of Hawke's companions. Both of them the odd ones out in her circle of companions; the only two with a distrust of mages. Not of Hawke herself, oddly enough – they both agreed that she was a thoroughly trustworthy and admirable person. But her companion Merrill and her paramour Anders – yes, those they both distrusted. Knowing that Fenris was so at odds with her choice of friends, it was perhaps surprising that Hawke so often asked the warrior along on her expeditions; but realistically she had little choice. Her brother Carver was gone, returned back to Ferelden to become a Grey Warden. Her friend Aveline had become Captain of the Guard, and was usually kept too busy with that to help Hawke. Which meant the only warrior she could reliably count on for help was Fenris. And, knowing how unhappy he was to be be in the company of mages – and she always brought either Anders or Merrill along with her – she had begun asking Sebastian along since his presence invariably made the elf considerably less grouchy.

Not that he objected; especially not after his friendship with Fenris had blossomed into... something more. He would not say that they were _lovers_; that implied some sort of equity in their relationship, a mutual give and take. Their relationship was far more complex than that. He had found himself willing to bend his few remaining vows far enough to give pleasure to the man he'd come to love, but he would not break them entirely and allow Fenris to reciprocate. The only pleasure he allowed himself in their infrequent interactions was the satisfaction he derived from seeing Fenris' enjoyment of their activities.

It was late afternoon before they finally reached the upper meadows of the mountain, where the herbs Anders wanted could be found, and evening by the time the four of them had gathered a sufficient quantity of the low-growing flowering herb. They set up camp for the night in a spot near the lower edge of the meadow, in an area where a large boulder and a small stand of trees provided a bit of a natural windbreak. It was a quiet camp, none of them in any real mood for conversation, and they soon retired for the evening, Hawke and Anders taking one tent, Sebastian and Fenris the other.

Fenris had brought wine, as he often did, producing the bottle out of his pack while Sebastian spread out their bedrolls. They drank directly from the bottle, having nothing else to drink it out of, passing it back and forth as needed, Sebastian taking only an occasional small sip of the wine in comparison to the large mouthfuls that Fenris swallowed back so effortlessly. For such a small man, the elf had a great capacity for drink.

"A long day," Fenris eventually said, re-corking the bottle and setting it down off to one side. "A tiresomely long walk, just to pluck pretty flowers for the mage."

Sebastian smiled slightly. "You'll not complain when he uses a poultice or a potion on you though."

"No. I won't complain – better herbs than magic," Fenris agreed, then settled back, leaning on his elbows and watching Sebastian thoughtfully from under half-lidded eyes.

Sebastian felt himself flushing. _That look_... He did not ask. He did not offer. He always left the choice entirely up to Fenris, part of what had earned him Fenris' trust. He merely met Fenris' eyes, chin lifting slightly, and waited.

Fenris smirked, one side of his mouth lifting in an amused little smile. He shifted, spreading his legs wider, and licked his lips. "Do you wish to attend to me?" he asked, voice low and husky.

Sebastian swallowed. "Always," he admitted softly, winning a brief smile from the elf. He drew a deep breath, rising to his knees and moving forward to settle again between Fenris' legs. He paused, the two of them studying each other almost warily, even after all this time, then Fenris straightened up enough to kiss him. Just the once, just a brief pressing together of lips, a too-brief tasting of wine-flavoured mouth, Fenris' hand lifting to lightly touch his cheek. Then the warrior leaned back again, watching Sebastian closely.

Sebastian shifted forward, neither of them speaking as he set to work on undressing Fenris. First removing the breastplate, surprisingly heavy for such a small piece of metal, setting it aside before he began to undo the latches that joined together the front of Fenris' leather jacket. Fenris sat up as needed to allow him to remove it and set it aside as well, Sebastian taking care to not set as much as a fingertip against his skin. Not yet, anyway. He paused then, as he often did, studying the beauty of the elf; not just the exotic markings of his brands, but how well-shaped he was under them, lean and muscular, his skin a smooth olive between the lines of raised white brands. Well-made. He would have been beautiful even without the much-hated marks of the lyrium. With them, he was... there weren't words enough to express what Sebastian felt, seeing him like this.

When he moved again, it was to unlace Fenris' leggings, then carefully peel them down. The elf wore only the smallest of cache-sexes to protect tender skin from the leather of his leggings, a triangle of plain white silk fastened on with thin silk cords. Sebastian felt his mouth go dry, seeing how Fenris' cock was already straining against the thin fabric in anticipation, felt his own twitch in response. He finished pulling off the leggings, folding them neatly before putting them to the side with the rest of Fenris' armour.

The elf was studying him now, head tilted a little to one side. "Remove your own armour," he instructed. "I wish to be able to see you."

Sebastian flushed, then set about removing his armour, moving as slowly and deliberately as he had while undressing the other man. A performance, as much as anything, the careful removal and putting aside of his own armour; the armoured sleeve first of all, then the breastplate, followed by the hooded jacket of dark leather and silvery scale mail. Boots, as well, and the light shirt he wore under the jacket, leaving him dressed in just leggings and smalls. Those he did not remove, nor did Fenris ask him to. They each had their boundaries that they would not cross, and this was his.

He sat back on his heels, hands resting on his thighs, while Fenris studied him. He could see the elf's arousal; the spreading flush across his upper chest and shoulders, the increased tautness of his cache-sexe. Fenris abruptly sat up, leaning forward, placing his outspread hand almost delicately on Sebastian's bare skin, resting lightly against his upper chest. They both went very still, Sebastian holding his breath, watching while Fenris studied his face, the elf biting his lip a little before slowly leaning forward a bit further, face tilting up. Sebastian lowered his head, their lips brushing lightly together, Fenris' eyes fluttering closed at the contact. Sebastian hesitantly lifted his own hands, settling them carefully on Fenris' shoulders, feeling the elf stiffen at the contact. He did not like to be touched, though he tolerated it from Sebastian. Still, Sebastian kept his contact light, feeling the heated flush of Fenris' skin beneath his fingers as he slid his hands gently down across the brand-marked skin of Fenris' back. Fenris' mouth opened further as a sigh escaped him, his tenseness fading away beneath Sebastian's familiar touch.

Sebastian moved his attention from Fenris' mouth, trailing kisses along the edge of his jaw, briefly nuzzling into his hair to lip at the lobe and edge of his ear, drawing a shiver from the elf. He drew in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of Fenris' hair and skin – leather, soap, sweat and the faint underlying odour that was purely _Fenris_. Fenris made an approving sound as he began to work his way down the elf's throat, licking and kissing the skin between the raised lines of brands. The brands themselves he avoided as much as possible. Only once had he tried to pay any deliberate attention to them; it had not gone well, putting the elf in a foul mood that had taken days to subside.

He lipped at the hollow of Fenris' throat, pausing with lips resting against warm skin to feel the pulse beneath, before continuing further downwards. Fenris sighed softly, then shrugged Sebastian's hands away and leaned backwards, breaking the contact between them.

"Enough of that," Fenris said brusquely, scowling slightly.

Sebastian nodded. Some times Fenris would let him continue for quite some time with touches and kisses before insisting they move on to something more direct; tonight he was clearly not in the mood to allow it. Sebastian shifted further back, taking a moment to adjust his own erection – somewhat painfully confined within his own leggings – into a slightly more comfortable position. Then he leaned forward, bracing himself with a hand to either side of Fenris' hips. He paused, head still a few inches away from where Fenris' erection strained to escape its restraint, the white silk darkening with moisture already. He searched Fenris' face, lifted one eyebrow in question.

Fenris nodded, once, and Sebastian lowered his head the rest of the way, delicately lipping at the damp fabric, drawing a hissing intake of breath from the elf. He mouthed and licked at the cloth, dampening it so that it clung to Fenris' skin, drawing little grunts and sighs of approval from the elf as he worked, conscious of every hitch of Fenris' breath, every involuntary twitch of his hips. Fenris was not a vocal partner; in the beginning he'd been entirely silent, seeming frightened of making any sound whatsoever. It made Sebastian hate the elf's ex-master all the more, if he'd needed any further reason to loathe the man. That Fenris now felt comfortable enough with him, with what they did, to give any sign of his own enjoyment made Sebastian more pleased than he could say, and elated by even the tiniest of sounds or movements.

"_Sebastian_," Fenris finally growled out, scowling again.

He smiled, then used his teeth to carefully pull aside the triangle of fabric, freeing Fenris' erection to spring to full attention. The elf gave a pleased little sigh as his lips closed around the reddened tip of it. Sebastian closed his eyes, hollowing his cheeks as he sucked lightly on it, tongue licking slowly around the ridged edge, then tonguing at the slit in the tip. _That _drew a low moan from Fenris. He took a little more into his mouth, tongue fluttering now against the sensitive underside. Fenris sighed softly, then lay back flat, hands moving up from the floor to touch Sebastian's head; not holding his head down, just petting and toying with his hair, touching the edges of his ears and the nape of his neck, with surprisingly gentle little touches. Sebastian would have smiled if he could, and settled for taking in a deeper mouthful of the elf's cock instead, feeling pleased as Fenris gasped and lifted his hips a fraction.

He took his time, as he always did, spending some time toying with the tip, then let it slip free from his lips, turning and lowering his head so that he could mouth at the side of the shaft, and even lower, licking and then sucking on Fenris' balls briefly, until the elf made a little exasperated sound and tugged on a lock of his hair. He laughed, then, and raised his head enough to smile warmly at the other man. "You are impatient tonight."

"_Yes_," Fenris snapped, then looked upset by his own ire.

"It is all right," Sebastian assured him, and lowered his head to kiss at the skin of his stomach and upper thighs. "I know it is not me that has you angry."

"No. It is the mage," Fenris agreed, and then sighed, dropping his head back to the ground and closing his eyes. "Do what you will. I will try to restrain my irritation."

Sebastian smiled, and kissed the skin of his thigh one last time, then shifted position so he was laying on his belly between Fenris' outspread legs, braced partially upright on his bent arms. He ignored the discomfort it caused himself, so much of his own weight pressing his own still-confined erection to the ground, and returned his attention to Fenris' cock, working his way from base to tip with little overlapping licks. He licked and sucked on the tip again, took a deep breath through his nose, then took Fenris in as deep as he could in one smooth movement. Fenris gasped, hands tightening in Sebastian's hair, head arching back against his bedroll, legs jerking.

Fenris drew a couple of deep shuddering breaths as Sebastian swallowed, and swallowed again, muscles working around the hard length in his throat, before he slowly withdrew his head, keeping his lips locked firmly around the flesh sliding wetly between them. He paused once he could breath again, drawing in more air through his nose, watching with pleased interest as Fenris' stomach tightened inwards convulsively as his tongue fluttered against the underside of the elf's cock. He swallowed in again, drawing another gasp from Fenris. The elf's hands tugged at his hair, almost painfully, as Fenris jerked and stilled again, clearly fighting the desire to thrust into Sebastian's mouth. Sebastian began lifting and lowering his head himself, not any great distance but enough for Fenris' cock to slide back and forth in his throat a little as he resumed swallowing, feeling gratified by the little sounds of enjoyment it drew from the elf.

He had to withdraw again after a while, feeling dizzy from lack of air, breathing deeply through his nose for a while before he lowered his head a third time. After only a couple of swallows he felt Fenris' cock twitch and swell as the elf neared his finish, and withdrew his head again, sucking rhythmically once he had just the last few inches left in his mouth. Fenris groaned and shuddered, bitter moisture filling Sebastian's mouth as the warrior finally came, hips jerking erratically as he momentarily lost all control.

When he finally stilled again, Sebastian lifted his head, letting his now-limp cock slip free. Fenris' head was raised again, the look in his eyes as he studied Sebastian's face intense. He released Sebastian's hair, fingers of one hand curling to stroke caressingly against his cheek, then ran his thumb lightly along Sebastian's swollen lips. When he sank his fingers into Sebastian's hair again, it was to tug lightly, urging him to rise and move forward, leaning down over the elf to share another kiss, a long and tender one, Fenris' arms moving to wrap briefly around Sebastian, silently expressing his satisfaction.

Sebastian was smiling when they separated. He lay down on his own bedroll, just a few inches away from Fenris, watching as the elf twitched a blanket up over himself, rolling on his side to smile warmly at Sebastian. He ignored the ache in his own unattended groin; it was a familiar pain, something he was more than willing to endure in return for the gift of Fenris' company in his life. He laced his fingers loosely with Fenris', and settled back contentedly, waiting for sleep to claim him.


End file.
